Love Lies Bleeding
by Inuyoshie
Summary: AU. After witnessing his mother's death by the hands of the infamous vampire Aizen Souske, Ichigo has not been able to pick up his father's vampire hunting business, so it fell to Karin. But Aizen is back- what is he after this time? Yaoi. R&R please?
1. Chapter 1

Love Lies Bleeding

By Inuyoshie

_THE amaranth is a fact and a fancy. It is the flower of immortality, the flower of love, the flower of fame, and the flower that accompanies Hope until she is ruthlessly swallowed by Despair. "Love-lies-bleeding" is a name needing no explanation to one who has seen the flower, for often the pendent inflorescence, of a brilliant crimson colour, may be likened to streams of blood; but as a figurative expression it might with equal propriety be called "Hate-lies-bleeding." Amaranthus is the unfading flower, amar giving the adjective to the noun. By a confusion common in the history of words, amar has been changed to amor, and thus the unfading flower becomes the flower of love: the outward characters explain the rest._

Chapter One

(From Ichigo's Eyes)

"YOU'RE LATE!"

I dodged a kick to the face with a scowl.

"WHAT KIND OF NORMAL FATHER HAS A FRIGGIN' SEVEN O' CLOCK CURFEW FOR HIS TEENAGE SON?" I yelled at the goat-faced bastard.

"I make my rules very clear- in the Kurosaki house, dinner is at seven. Sharp!" Isshin Kurosaki (otherwise known as my freakin' insane father) bellowed at me. I rolled my eyes and glanced at my little sister Yuzu, who sat at the table, dishing out rice. She smiled warmly back at me, and I sighed. Karin, Yuzu's twin sister, sighed.

"Come on Yuzu, let's just eat. I'm starved," she complained. Yuzu looked at Dad and I worriedly, and then began eating.

"MASAKI! WHY IS OUR SON SO DIFFICULT?" Dad whined to a poster of our deceased mom.

"Maybe it's because you have the emotional capacity of a four year old," Karin remarked, chewing her rice. I nodded and sat down at the table, dishing out some dinner for myself.

It was a typical night here in the household Kurosaki, with Dad being a goat-faced asshole, Karin being a total tomboy and Yuzu being… well, Yuzu.

The scent of garlic from dinner still wafted up to my room later that evening as Karin did the dishes. I flopped back on my bed and closed the window, finding the night air a little too chilly for my tastes. My room was a typical teenager's room, albeit probably cleaner than most… I dislike having stuff all over the place. That and people tend to stop by and hang out at my place often… usually it's just Keigo or Tatsuki, two of my friends from school. But Keigo was busy with his psychotic older sister tonight, doing some kind of family exercise… like a picnic or something. Tatsuki was competing in a hand-to-hand competition earlier, so she was probably resting (and in Kyoto) right now. In a fit of boredom I picked up a book I was intending on reading. I had received a book of the complete comedies of William Shakespeare from Orihime, a nice girl from my class. I hadn't finished it… I was just starting The Taming of the Shrew, one of my favourites. I chewed through the story eagerly, until my eyelids drooped and I slumped foreword on my bed.

Around 11 in the evening I woke up shivering. My bedroom window was open, and the lights in my room were off, save the soft glow of the lamp on my desk. A figure sat on the chair by my desk, holding a book in his hand. Half asleep, I blinked fuzzily.

"Who…"

"_He does it under name of perfect love;  
As who should say, if I should sleep or eat,  
'Twere deadly sickness or else present death_

_I prithee go and get me some repast;  
I care not what, so it be wholesome food." _ The figure replied with a smooth, rich voice that seemed vaguely familiar.

"Katharine," I muttered in response. "My book…"

There was a soft chuckling, and I saw the figure rise up, walking over to my bed. He was surrounded in shadow, but I got a sense of… maleness from him I guess. The voice was deep anyways… deep and warm. The man approached me, and tilted my chin up, observing me with warm dark brown eyes that held a tint of red in them. Everything went fuzzy again, and the last thing I remembered was that soft chuckle of his.

The next thing I knew it was morning, my room was freezing and I had a crick in my back. There was some grumbling and yelling downstairs, and I groaned.

Karin's vampire-hunting buddies were over for breakfast again.

Oh yes… did I forget to mention that little fact? My little sister kills undead… things. So does Dad, but he's technically retired. They only call on him if a really nasty bugger is in town.

Now logically speaking, wouldn't it make more sense for me to be a hunter? Hehe well… you see… there was this one incident with Mom and the vampire who killed her and

_(warm reddish brown eyes fangs blood so much blood)_

I haven't been able to stand vampires ever since. I freeze up when around them. But my tomboy little sister Karin…? She was practically famous.

I yawned and straightened up, figuring what I saw was just a dream. I could have easily forgotten to close my window. And dreaming about mysterious

_(handsome)_

strangers sneaking into my room was what I got for falling asleep while reading Shakespeare…

I stood and dressed, showering lazily. For some reason my chin burned. I rubbed it with extra soap, and descended the stairs to see who was at the breakfast table.

Vampire hunters work in pairs… it's always been like that. So it was no surprise that Karin's partner, the ever grouchy and ever short Toshiro Hitsugaya sat at the table, scarfing down toast with Yuzu tending to some injuries. Karin was livid.

"You did WHAT? You freaking idiot!" she yelled at him, whacking him on the head with a cookbook.

"Ow… I got enough of that from the damn vampire," Toshiro grumbled.

"Hi Toshiro," I greeted.

"That's Mr. Hitsugaya to you," he grumbled back to me. Typical response. I spotted a red-haired man and a bald guy sitting next to Toshiro and groaned.

"Not you two," I muttered. Renji Abarai and Ikkaku Madarame, both vampire hunters, chuckled darkly.

"Damn straight," Renji grinned at me. I rolled my eyes and got myself some cereal.

"So what the hell is up with the pow-wow in my kitchen?" I demanded.

"Why would you care p- er…" Ikkaku trailed off when he saw that dangerous look in my eye. I may have issues with vampires, but living breathing people? No problem, I can beat the crap out of them any time. Especially when they make a mockery of my…er, issues.

"He's back. Not only is He back, but Hitsugaya tried to take him on," Renji sighed.

"He?" I blinked.

"The one who killed Mom. Souske Aizen," Karin said softly. I grit my teeth angrily.

"Oh. Him." I nodded slowly.

"…Look, it's personal-"

"He fucking killed my mom!" Karin yelled at Toshiro.

"Well he killed my-" Toshiro stopped mid sentence, and then calmed down. "Whatever."

"Oh don't you dare 'whatever' me," Karin snapped. "Just because you're older than me doesn't mean you have the right to keep information from me-"

"I can keep whatever I want from you!" Toshiro snapped.

"Hey hey, " I remarked, trying to break up the tension. "We're all pissed off and nervous, but there's no needs to bite each other's heads off,"

"What I don't get is why we're here though," Ikkaku grumbled once Toshiro and Karin had settled down and were eating calmly. I listened carefully.

"Because He was here…" a voice came from a window. I jumped slightly, and glared. The man in the window was none other than The Byakuya Kuchki, Renji's partner and the only man on the planet earth who is able to function with a telephone pole rammed up his ass.

"What? You mean Aizen was actually in his house?" Renji choked on his toast, paling. Karin glanced at me worriedly, but I kept my face straight.

"Wouldn't there be more dead people?" I remarked, my voice sounding slightly weak.

"You live right next to a hospital," Byakuya replied coolly.

"Dad would have mentioned it… if one of our patients was dead," Yuzu remarked smally.

"Yeah… and if He needed food, he could just pick someone off of the streets," Karin nodded. I tried not to turn green… the terms that are used… in the end, most vampire hunters sound more like their queries than humans themselves. I just wish… I wish that that life hadn't been thrust upon Karin at such a young age. Many other people agreed with me.

"Wait… how can you tell that He was here?" Yuzu asked quietly.

"He just can," Dad announced, stepping into the dining area with a sigh. "So Kuchki, where in the house was he? Did he hurt one of the girls? Ichigo?"

"I think it would be noticeable if he hurt anyone," I announced, a little too quickly. I had this unpleasant feeling in my stomach. Please let that man have been a dream please let that man have been a dream shouldn't I have freaked out if he was a vampire? Yeah, so it was just a dream, just a dream…

_(warm brown eyes)_

Byakuya was staring at me. I refused to meet his eyes, nomming on my toast. Eventually, Byakuya sighed.

"I have no idea," he admitted "what He did."

"Only that He did something," Dad frowned.

"For all we know He's just trying to psych us out," Karin spoke up.

"You hope," Ikkaku added. Toshiro glared at Ikkaku, and then glanced at Karin.

"Well, don't we have things to do?" Renji asked his partner after an awkward silence.

"Yes. Come." Byakuya nodded, disappearing through the window.

"Can't anyone use a door anymore?" Toshiro demanded after Renji followed Byakuya.

"You kidding? Doors are for pansies," Ikkaku replied, leaving through the same window. "Thanks for the grub!"

"AT least he had the sense to thank us for it," Karin muttered, glaring at Toshiro again. "Come on, we need to talk,"

Toshiro nodded and sighed, stepping out of the house with my sister. I watched them go, still feeling oddly cold.

My chin, however, seemed to burn.

/

Inuyoshie's after the chapter special

Okay, so that's the first chapter of Love Lies Bleeding. I got the idea for it from my lovely AizenXIchigo fan club… cheers to you all~

Don't worry, I'm still doing Nameless. I'm just…er, multitasking. Yes. Because I am a PC and can do that. And play games. Hehe…

Anyways, tell me what you think? Love it? Hate it? Want to eat me for it?

This will have a healthy side helping of HitsuXKarin, so if you don't like that pairing I'm sorry. There's also some ByakuyaXRenji. I dunno what to do with Ikkaku yet. I'll think of something. But I'll try to keep it on the AizenXIchigo road.

Next chapter is going to be a lot of back story, so please bear with me. I'll throw in some HitsuXKarin to keep things interesting. And there shall be a fight scene. Maybe some more yaoi.

Oh, and the quote is from The Taming of the Shrew. I got it from http:/ /Shakespeare. / taming_shrew /full. Html and do not own it. At all.

I got the information on Love-Lies-Bleeding (the flower) from http: /www. Aboutflowers .org/ loveliesbleedi_


	2. Chapter 2

Love Lies Bleeding

Am I guilty or am I just waiting around  
For the tide to come in so the truth can come out  
And if I had a dollar for every time  
I repented the sin and commit the same crime  
I'd be sitting on top of the world today

By Inuyoshie

Chapter Two

(In Karin's Eyes)

Toshiro stormed down the city block by Dad's clinic, and I followed him in irritation. Breakfast unsettled me. Why? Well, let's start things off- Toshiro went off on his own and challenged this vampire guy. He's supposed to be the level-headed one in our partnership! That sounds more like the kind of thing I would do… or Ichigo, if he didn't have his issues.

And that the same vampire, Souske Aizen, was in our house? That itself would creep me out, but the look on Ichigo's face screamed that he knew something. But something wasn't right there- Ichigo was afraid of vampires. He would have yelled, wouldn't he?

"Aizen's specialty is hypnosis," Toshiro remarked calmly once we were in the nearby Yori Park. I sat on a bench under a tree and Toshiro sat next to me with a sigh.

"Hypnosis? You mean that weird pendulum stuff that stage magicians do?" I asked. "Or more the 'Look Into My Eyes' thing you see in the Dracula movies?"

"A little bit of both," Toshiro replied evenly. "As you know all vampires have that… it's just Aizen's is very well developed. It's incredibly difficult to resist it. I think there's only one man in history that has been able to resist him, and that man doesn't like us,"

"Why not?" I asked.

"… That's classified." Toshiro replied coolly. I scowled.

"Jeez. You lot have issues," I muttered. Toshiro sighed.

"You're just a kid, you don't understand," he told me. I scowled deeper. How many times have I heard that before?

"You can't be much older than me," I snapped back. Toshiro scowled this time.

"I'm just naturally short, that's all," he grumbled. "My height and your inexperience are totally unrelated,"

"Whatever you say. So, why did you do it?" I wanted to know.

"Do what?" Toshiro asked blandly.

"Why you went and attacked-"

"It's not your business," Toshiro cut me off.

"Hey. I open my past up to you and you give me nothing," I growled.

"I never asked you to. Only fools are that trusting," Toshiro snapped at me. I twitched and smacked him upside the head.

"Don't you dare give me that emo crap," I told him angrily. Toshiro stared at me, rubbing his snowy hair. "I'm just… worried about you," I muttered, rubbing my hand. He has a damn hard head.

"… I'm fine," Toshiro assured me with a sigh. "It's just… around that man, I… I get so angry,"

"So that guy hurt you too huh?" I shrugged. "You don't have to elaborate; you could have just said that,"

Toshiro scowled again.

"Would you really have taken that as an answer?" he wanted to know.

"…True," I nodded. Toshiro reached into his sack and pulled out some goggles. This was a little weird, since vampires cannot go out in the daytime. So they don't burst into flames like in the movies… but their skin does burn, kinda like smoldering paper. It's cool to watch, but smells like cooking pork, and I haven't been able to eat that meat ever since. But it's not the burning skin that kills them… vampires have incredibly high internal body temperatures, and they usually die of heat stroke. So vampires do not go out during the daytime, it's been said that some really strong ones can go out in daylight, but they are rare. If any vampire goes out it's usually in winter on over cast days. Let's just say in the winter months, Toshiro and I get busy. But I swear Toshiro likes it that way, he has a thing for ice. Dunno why… he's just weird.

"Don't you have something else to do?" he asked me crankily after a few minutes.

"Nope." I shook my head.

"No appointments? Soccer games? Shopping trips?" Toshiro pressed.

"I quit soccer to kill undead people, remember? And I hate shopping," I informed Toshiro. He frowned slightly, a sad look flickering across his face.

"You should really go," he told me sternly.

"Okay, what's up?" I demanded.

"Nothing is-"

"You're armed. And you have the infrared goggles out," I told him.

"And-"

"Hey Shiro-chan," a soft voice whisper cooed. I jumped, feeling cold all over. A man was bent over and had stuck his head between Toshiro and me. The man was tall and lanky, with pointy angular facial features and silver hair. His eyes were slitted or closed, I couldn't tell, and he had this very wide grin on his face. It looked almost painful.

"Ichimaru," Toshiro hissed, jumping to his feet and pulling out his sword. Yes, he uses a sword. Personally, I like guns.

"Aw, Li'l Shiro's pissed-"

"Bastard!" he growled, leaping at this Ichimaru guy angrily. I stared. He's usually more…

"Composed? Yes, our little Toshiro seems to be feeling upset," another voice remarked from behind me. I whirled around to see another man, as tall as Ichimaru with wavy brown hair and sharp eyes. I avoided those as I scanned the man. He looked familiar… I pulled out my gun and aimed it at the man's chest, backing up.

"Toshiro, what the hell is going on?" I demanded. Toshiro was thrown onto the grass next to me, coughing up some blood.

"Where is she?" Toshiro barked.

"Oh, ya mean Ran-chan?" Ichimaru asked lightly. "I never said I'd bring her ya know," Toshiro grit his teeth angrily. I snorted and turned, firing a shot at the creepo grinning guy. It clipped the side of his shoulder and he frowned.

"Well that ain' nice," he complained, his grin turning into a little frown. "Souske can't yer kill her?"

"Not now Gin, I want to do something with her," the man replied, walking up to me. I felt my body freeze up. Not the usual fear thing- I don't get that anymore. No, it was a deep thing, like I was a puppet with my strings cut. There was no response; I couldn't even wiggle my toes. My gun slid from my grasp as the man came closer, taking his sweet time like some creeper from a slasher flick. It was as he approached that I remembered where I had seen his face.

Souske Aizen. Possibly the most powerful vampire known to man. The man who killed my mother. The man who hurt Ichigo.

"Ichigo," he remarked softly, almost purring the name. I felt sick. "You look just like him," I gritted my teeth, wanting to scream at him, spit on him, bite him, kick him, disembowel him anything, but nothing moved. "Hm… I'd imagine you can't move your vocal cords either… well, that's fine," Aizen gave me a warm smile and leaned in. "Toshiro didn't tell you, did he? That he's part vampire?" My eyes widened slightly, and I found my head being turned to look at Toshiro. His eyes were wide and his face was pale. I growled angrily and began struggling under this asswipe's power. I fucking hate him. "Oh my, you look quite angry. You look just like your brother when he's frustrated…"

"How the hell would you know that?" I spat, freeing my vocal chords. Hah, take that fucking dipshit.

"I've been watching him since he was born," Aizen replied easily.

"God you're fucking creepy!" I retorted. Aizen frowned, and then sighed.

"I see then. Very well." He pulled away from me, and stepped back. I suddenly felt awful, sick and drained all at once. I collapsed on the grass, unable to move. "Come Gin. There are things to do,"

"Right-o~" Gin replied cheerfully, pulling away from Toshiro and dropping a lock of strawberry blonde hair on his chest. The two bastards then seemed to vanish. I flopped back onto the grass and sighed tiredly. My head ached. Actually, my whole freaking body hurt. I heard someone crawl over and saw Toshiro's face hover over me. He was really close to me, and for the first time I noticed how warm he was. I frowned at this, and Toshiro pulled back.

"… If you want a different partner, I'd understand," he muttered, sitting next to me. I thought about it for a moment. He didn't necessarily lie, I mean, I never straight out asked 'Are you a vampire?' and even if I did, he's only half… so…

"I just wish you told me," I replied finally in a sullen tone. "You shouldn't keep shit like that bottled up; it's not good for you,"

"What, was I supposed to just tell you 'I'm half vampire'?" Toshiro demanded.

"Hell yeah? What, did you think I'd run away? I mean, I'd be a little suspicious but… I wouldn't shun you. You're still Toshiro, and it's not like you asked for it to happen, right?" I pointed out. Toshiro sighed and flopped on the grass next to me.

"You're not hurt, are you?" he asked.

"Just achy. And I can't move," I replied.

"I'll bring you back to your dad's house. Aizen's mentioning of your brother so much…" Toshiro frowned. "I don't know…"

"He's stalking my big brother." I replied firmly. "So I'm gonna fucking kill him,"

Toshiro sighed and picked me up, a wry smile on his face.

"Leave some for me," he told me shortly, walking back to my house while still carrying me. I scowled at him, trying to conceal a sudden blush I felt.

Jerk.

Inuyoshie's after the chapter special

Okay, so a little bit on Aizen's plan. Sorry, not a lot of AiXIchi there… a bit of HitsuXKarin though, for all you HitsuXKarin fans. I know there are some… hehe.

So yes. Some sexy man sex ness next chapter. Okay, no sex, but like… sexy stuff. Smex? Lime…. Yeah~

/

Okay. Inu out~


	3. Chapter 3

Love Lies Bleeding

By Inuyoshie

Chapter Three

_Named for the shape of their leaves, gladioli – from the Latin word "gladius," meaning sword – have a history than spans from Africa to the Mediterranean. Symbolizing strength and moral integrity, gladioli also represent infatuation, with a bouquet conveying to a recipient that they pierce the giver's heart with passion._

(In Ichigo's eyes)

"So you're sure you feel fine?" My dad asked me worriedly.

"Yeah I'm fine!" I replied.

"Really?" Yuzu asked.

"Yes, I'm fine!" I exclaimed, getting frustrated. Ever since the creepy breakfast I've had people breathing down my neck! It was freaking insane. I paced the kitchen angrily. Unfortunately, Dad would not let me leave the house, saying I was grounded. I had half of a mind to go and jump out my bed room window, but he would know, and be out there before I could even wipe the grass off of the ass of my pants. That man was a freaking ninja when it came to such matters. Believe me, I know. I've tried that.

Maybe I could call up one of my friends… yeah. I ran up to my room and picked up my cell phone, debating. Who to call? I had several friends in my classes, like Sado (I called him Chad, 'cuz that sounds cool) or Tatsuki, or Uryuu…

Well, Uryuu was complicated. His dad is kind of a rival to mine, but he was in my class. I'll admit… I kinda had a crush on him. It took me several months to work up the balls to tell him… and when I did, he just… poofed. Disappeared. His dad totally launched a search, but the only clues were a few strands of pink hair. I overheard it was a vampire, which explains why the police couldn't do much about it. The incident still gives me shivers…

Then again there was Hichigo. He was a weird dude… I met him shortly after Mom died… he looks just like me, only he's really pale and has white skin and freaky ass eyes. He goes to a night school because of his looks and his behavior problems. That kid… seriously. He's a violent guy. But… he seems to be calm around me, and as long as he doesn't hurt me or my friends, I don't mind him. In fact, it's kinda enjoyable to talk to him. He actually listens, whereas a lot of my other friends will just talk about their problems. He's the only one I've ever told about Mom's death, and my problems with vampires. Hichigo doesn't really seem to stress about the existence of vampires, unlike Tatsuki, who laughed at Uryuu when he talked about them in class.

Smiling slightly, I dialed Hichi's number, and waited. After I finally got him, I sighed.

"Hey Ichi," Hichigo growled from his side. His voice has an odd sound to it, kinda scratchy and echo-y.

"Hey Hichi," I replied. "Listen, I seriously need to talk, but I'm under house arrest…"

"I'm on it," Hichigo chuckled from his side. "One jailbreak coming right up!"

I laughed at this. Hichigo had a very simple method of getting me out, relying on the simple fact that he creeped the crap out of my family. Even my psychotic dad and vampire hunting sister were unnerved by him. All he had to do was hang around long enough, and he could get what he wanted.

I sat back on my bed and grinned. It was only a matter of time… and yeah. I seriously needed to distract myself. I tried to pick up my book of Shakespeare… but I couldn't focus on it. The book smelled weird, like some kind of cologne… I set it down quickly, feeling cold all over.

"Ichigo! Your creepy friend is here!" Yuzu yelled. I grinned. That was fast… I quickly pulled on some sneakers and raced downstairs to see Hichigo leaning against the front doorway, dressed in casual jeans with a cocky smirk on his face.

"Hey Ichi," he greeted.

"Hey Hichi," I nodded, walking over to him.

"Dad said you shouldn't leave…" Yuzu said softly. Hichigo leaned over and gave her a creepy grin.

"Well… tell him I kidnapped him, 'kay?" Hichigo replied, grabbing my arm and dragging me out of the house.

"Hey… can you not creep out my sister?" I complained lightly as we walked, he more in the shade because of his albinism (his skin burns like no one's business, which is why he doesn't go to day school)

"Eh, it's not my fault I'm awesome," Hichigo replied casually, turning down the block to his house, a small apartment he shares with his mother, whom I have never met. I shrugged.

Like I said earlier- Hichigo was one weird dude.

I stepped into his house, glancing around. It was dark and messy. Some days I wondered if Hichigo actually had a mother, or a father, or any kind of authoritive figure in his life. It would explain a lot…

We made our way to Hichigo's messy bedroom. He has an old mattress covered in oddly white sheets. No matter how messy everything else in the house was his walls and sheets stayed crisp and white. I'd never understand how he did it. The only things that were black were the carpet and the thick curtains that covered every window in the house, giving the place a cave-like feel. I joked that it was our man cave. For some reason, I now felt it was more like a coffin…

I settled on Hichigo's bed and sighed. "There's this guy…"

"Do I gotta go kick someone's ass?" Hichigo asked. I shook my head.

"He's this vampire guy," I muttered.

"Doesn't matter. " Hichigo shrugged. I raised an eyebrow. Yeah, Hichigo and I were friends but… I didn't expect him to lay down his life for me. That just felt… weird.

"Why-"

Hichigo sat down next to me and frowned, glancing me over. He placed two pale fingers to my chin and I flinched back. Hichigo felt warm, burning almost. "Are you okay? You're all-"

"Aw hell," Hichigo muttered. "He's here,"

"What are you-" I was cut off when Hichigo proceeded to pin me to the bed. Thoughts whirled through my head at a breakneck speed as I struggled under him- when did he get so strong? When we were kids I was always stronger than him and would kick his ass when we sparred- he called me 'King' and referred to himself as my 'horse'. And why was he so warm- like he was burning or running a fever…

Hichigo's lips crashed down over mine, jarring all thoughts out of my head. Everything was warm, way too warm… Hichigo's tongue felt oddly cool as it slipped over my-

"Geggmoff-" I managed to strangle out, squirming violently. My squirming didn't do much- Hichigo had me pinned.

"Ichi Ichi… always my stubborn king…" he murmured in my ear, making me shudder. "Didn't I tell ya? If you let me get stronger than you, then I'll be the king and you'll be the horse…"

"What's your problem?" I demanded angrily, trying to take control. Hichigo nuzzled my neck in response, causing me to shudder. My muscles started relaxing and I tried to squirm more, getting panicked. Hichigo chuckled and licked my neck slowly. I felt a little fuzzy, like that warm feeling you get when you've just woken up. Something sharp and pointy poked at my neck and suddenly everything became painfully real.

He was a vampire.

I didn't even think- it was as if that very fact got me out of whatever funk I was in. I snarled and elbowed Hichigo in the ribs harshly, stumbling to my feet. Hichigo recovered too quickly, on his feet as I stumbled to the door.

"Ichigo," he whispered, his voice flitting across my body silkily. I just kept running, stumbling through the house and out the door. I could hear Hichigo after me, and he grabbed at my shirt just as I fell out the door. My shirt ripped and I yelled, whirling around and meeting Hichigo's eyes sharply.

"Get away from me!" I yelled, running out into the pale sunlight in the street. A car speeding down the street swerved as to not hit me. The passenger's door swung open and Renji stuck his head out, staring at me.

"In the car you idiot!" he barked. I stumbled in, my brain totally blank. Renji had to help me into the back seat and buckle me in. His hands felt cold against my feverish flesh. Odd little things stuck out to me, like how Hichigo smelled like peppermint, and so did I now.

"Ichigo… Ichigo stay with me you asshole!" Renji barked at me. I blinked, feeling muddled.

"How bad?" Byakuya's cold voice startled me.

"He's in post-hypnotic shock," Renji reported.

"Any bites?"

"Just a little blood drawn, not nearly enough to turn him. Looks more like marking than anything else," Renji muttered, pressing something to my neck. "Dammit stay still!"

It was then I realized I was shaking.

"M-my shirt," I muttered.

"We'll get you something at your house… God you're warm," Renji muttered, wrapping gauze around my neck.

"I feel cold," I muttered. Renji sighed.

"Yeah, that's typical," he muttered. I rested my head on the window and watched Karakura town whiz by, vaguely wondering if Byakuya was adhering to the speed limit. All of the other cars seemed to be crawling by. Soon, almost too soon, the car stopped. Renji pulled me out of the car, and I let myself be lead, starting to gain feeling back. By the time we got to the doorway, I felt painfully awake. Every detail was sharp- the worried look on Yuzu's face, and on Dad's face.

"Who did it? He'll come back-"

"Not in this house." Dad shook his head. "The monster will be dead on the doorstep,"

It was then that I realized another thing- the guy I had befriended when I was a kid, the guy who I trusted, turned out to be a vampire. A vampire who just tried to eat me. I felt something awful in my stomach, like that feeling you get when you've gulped a large quantity of black cold coffee and stale toast. I gritted my teeth.

He lied. I trusted him and he…

I ran up to my room, slamming the door. Grabbing my headphones I jammed them on and curled up under my comforter, turning up my music so loud that it drowned out the sound of Dad and Byakuya talking about stakes and fires.

Something cold brushed across my face some time later. I had fallen asleep, so things were unclear, but I felt someone remove my headphones.

"That can't be healthy," a warm, masculine and vaguely familiar voice murmured.

"Nn… my ears," I muttered, blinking my eyes open. A tall man in a nice suit sat next to me on my bed. I could fuzzily make out his face- pointed and chiseled with sharp reddish brown eyes and a curl of hair dangling in his face. He chuckled slightly, running warm fingers down the side of my face. I scowled. "Too… many people… touching me…"

"That is true," the man nodded, leaning in and tracing his fingers down my face and neck. Strangely enough, I was letting him. My body felt completely relaxed and warm… it was kind of nice. The man paused at the bandage, and I could just feel his displeasure radiating off of him.

"That pathetic mongrel," he murmured. I blinked at the man, confused.

"What-"

Just then, the door to my room burst open and the lights blazed on. Karin stood in the doorway, a shot gun in her hand.

"Aizen get the hell off of my brother!"

Inuyoshie's after the chapter special

Okay, sorry about the wait. You get some yummy Hichi Ichi, ne?

Yes, Hichigo has his eyes on Ichi… so Aizen's got competition! Although it looks like Aizen has more of a chance… just in my opinion. However, we shall see how things all turn out in the end, ne?

Indeed. If you wish, drop a review. If not, I'm just happy you read my story.


	4. Chapter 4

Love Lies Bleeding

By Inuyoshie

Chapter Four

(From Aizen's eyes)

His face was flushed, his eyes were wide and fear trickled down his back steadily.

There's something about Ichigo Kurosaki that is just breathtaking. I didn't even need to use very much of my power on the boy, he was already in a shock from his encounter with that pathetic mongrel that I have permitted to live and have contact with my Ichigo. And as much as I despised that filth for touching and marking my Ichigo, Hichigo did do me a service by emotionally shaking up Ichigo. This meant I'd have to use my hypnosis less.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Every gunshot made Ichigo jump slightly under me- under ordinary circumstances I would not have minded, but those shots were aimed at me. One grazed my shoulder, and I ignored the blossom of pain that followed, slowly turning to face the brat who injured me. Yes, Karin Kurosaki was adorable and quite amusing to scare, but now she was just in the way. I paid little to no attention to her barking at me about her brother. Ichigo didn't seem to mind, or he would have pushed me off by now.

As I thought this, the boy squirmed out from under me and backed up on his bed, pushing against the headboard and staring at me. I met his eyes easily, memorizing his expression. There was a mix of fear, hatred, disgust and embarrassment twisting on his face. The fear and hatred I didn't mind. The embarrassment was adorable. The disgust…

I felt another presence enter the room and glanced up. Isshin Kurosaki stood in the door, his own sword drawn. I scowled. Now was not the time to kill the old fool, not in front of Ichigo like this. I didn't want to shatter him… like that. Besides… my work this evening was done.

"It's a pity," I remarked softly, glancing again at my Ichigo, "that we couldn't have continued our conversation longer Ichigo-"

"I fucking hate you! Stay away from me!" he spat out angrily. I stepped out of his window. Laughing easily.

That boy was amusing.

I walked down the street leading to my favourite home, pressing my hand to my face and inhaling.

In a sick sort of way he smelled like his mother.

Masaaki was a curious young woman. Every generation a human is born with more energy, more mana than usual. With some training, these humans are able to manipulate the excess mana. I say humans because other humans are born with abnormally high levels. Just one is born with exceedingly high levels. Masaaki was this human, coming from a long line of such humans.

She was a beautiful woman, and I admit I wanted her. I pursued her to no avail. Not only did I not succeed, but that Isshin boy saw me as a threat. From that, a rivalry of sorts developed. But my feelings about Masaaki… now that I look back on it, I was merely interested in her as a pawn. Due to her soft nature, she could never be an equal to me, not even close. But the day she gave birth to Ichigo… that boy with vivid orange hair and warm brown eyes… I knew it was him. All I had to do was manipulate some things in the boy's life so that he would grow up to be the most powerful human in my lifetime.

So I killed Masaaki, hoping the boy would develop a hatred of me, and a reason to become strong, to avenge her death. Instead… it backfired. He regressed. On that day he ran from the scene, all of his power swelling inside of him. He ran into another vampire and accidentally transferred this power, this hatred and fear into the vampire, creating that bastard mongrel who called himself Hichigo.

Needless to say, I was furious. But once I had cooled, the boy was older. I started to notice some things about him that Masaaki had which I liked… the scent, the unusual colouring… and his personality was so strong, so aggressive… I would love to watch him break under me.

From then, I stared.

I approached my house and stepped in, sliding off my shoes and nodding to Gin, who lay sprawled on his couch with a voluptuous strawberry blonde on his lap. They both looked intoxicated (in one way or another) so I didn't bother, yawning. I really needed some entertainment.

Sauntering off to my bedroom, I pondered for a moment, and then opened one of the doors adjacent to my room. An average sized vampire sat in there, with pale white skin and deep black hair. He seemed to be intently reading, but glanced up at me with wide blue green eyes once I stepped in. His eyes were so nice… that's one of the reasons he's my favourite.

"Ulquiorra," I purred out calmly. "I'm in need of your services,"

"Yes, Lord Aizen," Ulquiorra nodded, setting his book aside and unzipping his shirt. I stepped over to him and put a hand over his to stop his progress, then pulled him to my bedroom.

Little Ulquiorra is so obedient. He also is quite stoic… as far as I know, I am the only one to make him scream.

I basked, licking some stray droplets of blood off of Ulquiorra's neck as he lay sprawled on my bed. I traced a four he had tattooed on his chest lazily, enticing a slight shudder. As I leaned in to nurse a cut I had neglected…

…the door slammed open. Irritated, I sat up, pulling a sheet over my lap to hide my state of undress. (Only a chosen few get to see the glory of my unclothed person.) The boy in the doorway, that irritating Ylforte Granz, bit his lip and flushed.

"L-l-lord-"

"What is it?" I snapped.

"It's… a development with the Kurosaki boy," Ylforte muttered.

"Well?" I demanded, partially excited. Did something interesting happen?

"One of his classmates came by… the rather, uh, busty one, Orihime Inoue. She visited him in his room and… well…"

"Well?" I demanded harshly, my excitement fading.

"She confessed feelings for him," Ylforte muttered.

"WHAT?" I demanded coldly. Ulquiorra twitched under my hand. Ylforte turned green.

"Uh, she said it while he was sleeping though," he added hurriedly. As if that made any difference… she was an obstacle. And like all obstacles, she must be dealt with it.

Of course, killing off Kurosaki's friends would be a foolish move. And easy one, but a foolish one. So I'd send a few of my most trusted subordinates, my Espada, to go collect them. Szayel Aporro seemed to have his hands full with the Quincy boy so…

"Stark." I muttered offhandedly. Give that lazy man something to do. "Go send him after her,"

"Yes, my lord." Ylforte nodded, looking relieved. After he didn't leave immediately I narrowed my eyes.

"Why are you still here?" I demanded.

"I was wondering… if you wanted me to contact my brother about Ulquiorra?" he asked, pointing. My fingers were imbedded about half an inch in Ulquiorra's pale chest, and blood was striping his pale skin profusely. He looked quite beautiful.

"Hm," I remarked, pulling my fingers out slowly and licking them off. No point in wasting. "Yes, I suppose. I shall be quite annoyed if my doll cannot be fixed,"

"Yes, my lord," Ylforte nodded again, turning to go. I sighed, falling back onto the bed.

I was close.

I was so close.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMTASTY

Inuyoshie's after the chapter special

Oh snap. I did it from Aizen's point of view.

I wrote him a little differently this time… I tried to throw in some more Hannibal Lector than would be strictly in character if that makes sense. And not just the blood play either.

Hooray for random side yaois? AizenXUlquiorra isn't bad. I would have put in AizenXGrimmy, but at this point being around Grimmjow would have reminded Aizen of Ichigo and would piss him off.

AizenXSzayel isn't happening in this fanfic. (Tho I should update that one)

Oh, and StarkXOrihime is a side pairing. I'mma write that one too. Why? Because it's quite lovely.

Anyways. Poor Ichigo. He has a fucking stalker after his ass! (Literally)

Oh, and Aizen's shy about his nudity. IN a stuck up, proud manner. Pshaw.

And we have information about Masaaki and Hichigo. Hooray random expository chunk! Also I'm using mana, because I can. Think of it like chakra, reitsu, fonons, ect.

I'll attribute this chapter to a long field trip to the border of my state… we spent about four or five hours total in that coach bus. MEH! Vicarious by Tool inspired me.

Anyways. My ranting ish over. Review?


	5. Chapter 5

Love Lies Bleeding

(Warning, this chapter is not fun. It is sad. Character death)

By Inuyoshie

Chapter Five

"_I'm safe_

_Up high_

_Nothing can touch me_

_Why do I feel this party's over?"_

_-Sober, P!ink_

(From Hichigo's eyes)

I don't know.

So many images, so many memories… I've slowly lost it.

I've managed to cling to my old name… Kain Shiba. I have some memories of the kind of man I was before… but they are slipping away. Ever since that day, years ago, when a beautiful little orange haired boy covered in blood ran into me, screaming… he had so much energy it was hard to comprehend. And it all went inside of me…

My body altered. It became a twisted mirror of the boy. I became a twisted mirror of the boy, lusting after his body, his soul, his blood… part of it was him, part of it was me. I didn't know the line between them anymore.

It was a curse… it was a blessing. I could start over. But I lost the people who I cared about. But I gained Ichigo, my king. He was mine. My king. That shock of orange hair haunted me in my dreams as I stalked about a house, whose tenants I killed. I hated the light, it reminded me of him. He was my light half, I was his dark half. He didn't know. He couldn't' know. After the attack, he had become afraid of our kind, of our power, of us. All that he had, he rejected. HE threw away. It frustrated me to no end. He could be amazing, great, the king of everything. Surely enough to kill that man Souske Aizen (Man? More like monster)

He rejected everything. It hurt so much, like a whole in my chest. IT was like becoming a vampire all over again. The hurt… it was so bad. It was so hot. I wanted that boy… I wanted him to scream, to beg, to hurt, to be safe… I didn't know what I wanted anymore. AS the days went by, and as my body grew up and the hormones began affecting me, the confusion got worse.

It's hard to tell if I love him. All I know is that he belongs to me, no one else. When that bastard Aizen came around, the feelings got worse. The part of me that was him wanted away from me and inside of him. It hurt so much… but I had to do it. I had to give my King back what was his. I had to get it out of my body, even if it kills me…

Unfortunately, the house of Kurosaki Ichigo was all tightened up. Aizen was near; I could smell his reek all around… all around my Ichigo's window. I gritted my teeth and watched from across the street. A window opened, and I saw Ichigo's little sister Karin, with a gun. Aimed at me. Damn, I had to move.

So I moved in the wrong direction. I was pretty sure what I was about to do would kill me, so I ran at the window. It felt almost good to let go of all rational thought, like admitting you have a problem. The pressure of seeming normal lifted. I felt free. A wicked cackle escaped my lips as I crashed into the living room Kurosaki, sending bits and pieces of glass all over the place. Something hot shot through my shoulder and I snarled. Damn Kurosaki brat. I began to run for the stairs, ignoring all shouts at me to stop. Like their puny little voices could stop me. I was faster than them anyways, shooting ahead of the rest of the Kurosaki family as I slammed into Ichigo's room, slamming the door shut and grabbing a chair to jam under the doorknob. Interruptions would be irritating.

In all honesty, I didn't know what I was going to do before I entered Ichigo's room, but as soon as I stepped over to the boy's sleeping form, it hit me. His scent, his form… I stepped over and sat on his bed. Ichigo's eyes snapped open and stared at me. For several moments, we stared at each other. He had pure hatred and fear in his eyes. I simply stared, savouring the feeling. Then I placed my hands on his shoulders, pinning Ichigo down. The boy tensed, watching as I leaned forward brushing aside his shirt. He was wearing the same shirt from today. I could smell Aizen on it. Scowling, I pressed my lips to the skin, right along the side of Ichigo's neck. The boy was trembling. His skin was soft and warm, and the scent was amazing. The rhythm of his pulse under my fingertips made the blood run hot through my own veins.

Ichigo was quiet and still. Did he know? Did he realize what I had to do? I pressed my fangs gently against his neck, not taking the time to find an artery. The door was rattling. I didn't have time to enjoy myself. My fangs plunged in and the boy under me screamed. Hot blood sprayed out. I must have hit an artery after all. I quickly sealed up the wound with my mouth and began to drink furiously. This was going to be my last meal.

My mana and Ichigo's connected. Hichigo started to rush back into Ichigo, or tried. There was only one point of contact, Ichigo's neck. There had to be more. I scrabbled at Ichigo's blanket. Oddly enough, Ichigo seemed to be trying to help, kicking the blanket off and clinging to me. An odd haze ran through my mind, an odd euphoric high. I was vaguely aware of the door slamming open. I was vaguely aware of Karin's screaming. I was vaguely aware of the click.

Pain seared across my back.

Pain seared across my arm. I pulled my mouth away from Ichigo's neck. He was pale, his eyes wide and hazy, his mouth slightly open. I smiled down at his form.

Click.

Pain seared through my head. My vision slowly turned red.

My last words…

"Be strong my King…"

Inuyoshie's after the chapter special

I don't generally do character death. However in this case, there was no way around it. It was either Ichigo kills him, Ichigo's family kills him, or Aizen kills him. And Hichigo had to do that to Ichigo, so I figured it would be the family.

I hope this tides my faithful reviewers over, even though it's all sad… T-T

Review?


	6. Chapter 6

Love Lies Bleeding

By Inuyoshie

Chapter Six

(From Ichigo's eyes)

Drip.

Drip. Drip.

God I hated that sound.

My eyes snapped open. I was in a hospital. Not the one Dad owned, so obviously the clinic. Disinfectant swam in my nose. I scowled, sitting up slowly. I was a little stiff, but after some cracking I felt better.

"Good, you're awake," I glanced up, and saw Renji sitting on a chair next to the window. "I was beginning to think you'd gone into a coma,"

"No, I hadn't…" I shook my head. "What… happened?"

"Don't-"

_Crash. Thud. Yuzu screamed. His eyes… gold... insane… his teeth... my…_

It must have shown on my face, because Renji winced. I reached up and touched me neck, frowning at the wad of gauze that my fingers met.

"How long?" I asked.

"Two days," Renji replied. "You kept rejecting the blood,"

"What?" I looked confused. "That's ridiculous, my medical records say that I'm type O-," Renji sighed, rolling his eyes.

"I don't understand it, okay kid? But that's what took you so long to wake up." He told me crossly. "The Seretei is still discussing what to do with you,"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You were bitten by a vampire." Renji told me. "Put two and two together,"

I felt my heart hammering in my head as my skin went cold with the memory…

"He did something…" I muttered, rubbing my neck. "Like… energy…"

"Really?" Renji frowned, leaning in. "Energy?"

"It was black… and red… and…" I shuddered, hugging myself. It felt disgusting. There was a dark feeling about it, something oily and thick that lurks around the corners of children's' nightmares.

"Hm…. Perhaps Urahara will check you out. But, I gotta read you your rights. You're a half right now," Renji informed me. "You won't be full vampire until you drink your sire's blood. Seeing that he's dead, any full blooded vampire will do. You won't get cravings unless you're around a bleeding pureblood, and all the purebloods have been notified of this. Right now, you're not exactly a threat, but you're not harmless either. At any moment, you could go into a frenzy and start attacking humans,"

"That's bullshit," I growled. "I'd never do that,"

"If I had a jelly roll for every time I've heard that I'd be obese," Renji replied flatly. "It happens. We'll probably put a tracker bracelet on you… unless you join the Seretei and hunt vampires with us. You'll probably be paired with a pureblood, get his/her blood, and start some training,"

"I…"

"And psychotherapy, judging by how your past is. I'd strongly suggest you do that," Renji told me. "Aizen's still out there, and he's expressed interest in you…"

I shuddered at this.

"Knowing how to protect yourself is a good idea," Renji finished. "I'll give you some time to think about it. Oh," Renji paused. "Don't eat to hospital food,"

"Why not?"

"The man who owns this hospital, Doctor Ishida… he doesn't like vampires. All the food is laced with holy water, and it will burn you. We don't generally go here unless the case is bad,"

I frowned, staring down at my lap. That meant my case was bad. How joyful. Renji left the room quietly, leaving me alone. A stack of books was on my bedside table with a get well soon card from my school. I picked it up and scanned it, picking out the names of all of my friends…

…except for Orihime. I frowned again. Setting the card aside, I picked up the book she had given me, finding the part where I had left off, in the Taming of the Shrew.

I had been bitten by a vampire.

The thought of it made my blood run cold.

Not only that… it was Hichigo who did it. Right before Karin blew his head off. I could remember his blood spattered all over my face, my body, my sheets, my ceiling… the memory made my stomach twist… but not in a nauseous way. I scowled and tried to focus my thoughts on the black words drifting across my books crisp pages but they kept going back to that feeling, that intense, hot feeling of that black thing entering my body… it felt strange, foreign yet part of me… like putting a blanket on that hasn't been touched in hours. The memory of the pain, the acute pain, made my skin feel hot… it was painful… but almost in an enjoyable way, if that makes sense. Perhaps I'm a masochist. I don't now…

I rubbed my injury and glared determinedly at the book. A note fell out of it from Karin.

_Dear Idiot Brother,_

_Sorry, we're not allowed to see you. Toshiro and I are on a mission, another one of your friends disappeared. Orihime. Rukia was there too, but she wants to go after him personally. It wasn't Aizen, but she says it may have been one of his cohorts. The others didn't want me to tell you, because it would worry you, but I know you better. You'd just get pissed off._

_Don't die on me you jerk._

_-Karin._

Orihime was gone. I scowled and stood, pacing until I realized my IVs were tugging at my skin and stopped. Ripping IVs out wasn't the best idea. But I felt the need to run, to do something…

"Hey,"

I blinked up at the door. A strange guy stood in the door way, with blonde hair cut neatly just under his jaw line. A lazy newsboy cap lay on his head and bored brown eyes stared at me.

"Who are you?" I asked my voice with a slight tremor in it. The guy offered me a very wide smile, revealing disturbingly square teeth.

"I'm Shinji Hirako," he replied, walking up to me and offering out a hand. "I'd like to be your friend,"

"…Okay…" I replied, accepted the hand cautiously, shaking it. Shinji sat on my bed and looked me over.

"So. You're Kurosaki Ichigo." He remarked, glancing pointedly at my neck injury. "And you got mauled pretty badly by that poor bastard,"

"What do you want?" I demanded coolly. Shinji snickered at this. "Well?"

"Now that yer a Half, you're gonna have to choose," he began. "Between-"

"Yeah I know, Seretei or not, I'll probably snap and kill a bunch of people, whatever," I grumbled.

"Lemme finish. There's a third option," Shinji remarked. "You could join me."

"What? Why?" I demanded.

" 'Cuz," Shinji replied. I narrowed my eyes.

"That's not an answer!" I growled.

"I can't see you getting along with any of the purebloods. They're planning on either sticking you with Kenpachi or Byakuya," Shinji shrugged. "Kenpachi would kill you. Byakuya would rub your fur the wrong way, and Renji would kill you,"

"What? Why?" I asked again.

"Renji likes the taste of his captain's blood a little more than most, if you catch my drift," Shinji told me, wiggling his eyebrows slightly.

"What the… wait, Renji's a vampire?" I stared. Shinji slapped his forehead.

"Damn yer an idiot!" he remarked. I frowned. "Anyways. You got a weird transfer of energy. The Seretei doesn't like oddities. They get rid of them,"

Something in his voice made me frown more. Was it… anger? Remorse? I sighed.

"So I'm a freak," I sighed, slumping back. "Just my luck,"

"Aw, don't be so down Ichi…" Shinji poked my stomach. "Being a freak is fun!"

"You'd know," I muttered.

"That I would," Shinji nodded in agreement, leaning over so that he was hovering over me.

"Um… personal space," I remarked, backing away from him. The slight predatory look on his face made me feel rather uncomfortable. It was vaguely familiar… kinda like…

"Yer bleeding," Shinji remarked, pointing to my arm. I had pulled an IV out, and a spot of blood was welling up on my arm. Shinji had a strange look on his face, his smile curling out to creepy proportions. Oh no. Don't tell me he's…

Yeah. Shinji picked up my arm, and I tried to jerk it away from his grasp quickly. Unfortunately, Shinji has a strong grip.

"Hey man, get off!" I told him with a growl, tugging at my arm.

"Oh shush, I won't bite," Shinji growled back at me, licking the wound quickly. I felt my skin get hot again, wincing. The feeling stung, burned and felt… odd. Shinji hummed, making the injury vibrate slightly and causing me to shudder. I could feel something hard press against my skin and paled. Great… he had his fangs out.

"No biting, remember," I remarked, my voice getting nervous as my other hand moved to the call button for a nurse.

"Don't." Shinji said in response. His voice sounded oddly rough. "Don't push the button."

Fuck that.

I pushed the button. Shinji narrowed his eyes, and I jerked my arm away.

"I'm not interested," I told him coldly.

"We'll see," Shinji replied calmly, standing and dusting off his shirt. "You'll realize that you need me,"

"Oh and why would I need you?" I demanded. Shinji smiled again and leaned in close.

"I can smell him on you…" he remarked softly. "My old pupil… Aizen Sousuke…"

Then he left.

Well, fuck!

Inuyoshie's after the chapter special

I couldn't say it any better myself Ichigo. Well fuck.

Indeed.

So, how have you all been? I have been doing okay. Kinda stressed out, lazy… I got back into D. Gray Man, and intend on starting up at least one fanfic, if not more. Not that y'all care though… I see you all as being strictly Bleach people. But if you happen to like D. Gray Man, I'm re-writing Of Librarians and Interesting People.

So. Did I just throw in ShinjiXIchi? You better freaking believe I just did! Why? Because ole Dutch Boy is so much fun…

So yeah.

You like? Please review. IF you don't wanna review, then thank you for reading the next, thrilling installment of Love Lies Bleeding.

Oh.

And happy birthday Kitsunage. Consider this your other birthday present. As for the Zetsu I drew you, pretend Shinji drew it.

'Cuz he reverses things~


	7. Chapter 7

Love Lies Bleeding

By Inuyoshie

Chapter Seven

(From Ichigo's eyes)

I left the next day.

Oddly enough, I hate hospitals. And… I had to get on with my life.

So I went to school.

"Ichigo! What happened to you?" Tatsuki demanded of me. I rubbed the back of my head lazily.

"Eh… stuff," I replied, knowing she wouldn't buy it. But… she looked distracted. "What's wrong?"

"Orihime went missing," she muttered.

"I heard about that," I nodded, frowning. She glanced at me sharply.

"You did?" she asked.

"Yeah… I know someone in the police," I lied. Tatsuki watched me, and sighed.

"Yeah, Orihime's gone," she muttered. "I hope she's okay,"

"She'll be fine," Rukia Kuchki, one of the other girls in class, remarked boldly. She's a great friend, and she and I are very close. I think for a while she had a thing for me… or at least, that's what Tatsuki told me.

"What makes you so sure?" Tatsuki demanded, giving Rukia a sharp look.

"What's with the hostility?" Rukia asked. Tatsuki muttered something and rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I'm personally making sure that she's found,"

"Must be nice having a rich older brother," Tatsuki muttered. Rukia narrowed her eyes.

"Want to say that louder?" she demanded. No one says anything about Byakuya Kuchki in front of his little sister without getting seriously damaged. Sensing a fight, I frowned.

"Look, we're all worried about Orihime, but fighting each other wont' get anything accomplished," I told them carefully.

"Whatever," Tatsuki muttered, grabbing my elbow and pulling me out of class. The bells rang, and I sighed. We'd be tardy. Again. Maan… the teach was going to kick our asses.

"Ichigo," Tatsuki started, staring at me. "Tell me what's going on,"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Don't be such a dumbass!" Tatsuki growled. "The police were never called. Rukia's bitch of an older brother showed up instead. He's not police. My dad's in the police. I know,"

I frowned. Crap…

"Rukia looked scared." Tatsuki added. "It takes some serious shit to freak out Rukia."

I sighed.

"I don't know," I muttered. "I was in the hospital when it happened,"

"… It has something to do with vampires," Tatsuki muttered. My eyes widened. Tatsuki doesn't believe vampires exist. At all. She'd laugh at Ishida when he'd rant about them. This was one of the reasons why I hung out with her, because other vampire hunters' kids and relatives seemed to congregate around me because of my last name. But Tatsuki… she and Orihime were some of the few normal people I knew.

"Yeah," I muttered, rubbing my neck with a scowl. Tatsuki watched me, and her eyes widened.

"Shit, you've been bitten," she whispered. I pressed my lips together, drawing back slightly. "Oh relax, I know you won't rip my throat out,"

"Wha…"

"It's not like you," Tatsuki told me frankly. "You'd die before you'd drink my blood,"

"Yeah… that kinda sucks," a new voice came from behind us. We both turned, to see a rather tall, muscular guy with messy blue hair and piercing blue eyes. The man wore a wide grin on his face, showing fang. HE wore no shirt, revealing a seriously ripped chest and stomach.

"Who the hell are you?" Tatsuki growled. The man's grin widened.

"I'm Grimmjow Jaggarjack, and I'm here for the kid," he replied. I backed away.

"Who me?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"No, the invisible kid next to you," Grimmjow replied with a sarcastic sneer that made me want to punch his face in. "Well, why don't you? Bring it, halfie,"

I lunged forward, punching the man. He caught my fist easily centimeters from his face and twisted my wrist, causing streams of pain to shoot up my arm.

"Gah! Let me go!" I growled, trying to pull away. Grimmjow twisted my fist, and I heard something crack. I cried out in pain as I felt him sprain my wrist (at the best)

"Tatsuki! Get out of here!" I yelled.

"Hell no!" she retorted, leaping at Grimmjow. He threw her off easily, and she slammed into a wall. I winced at the sound and Grimmjow yanked me so that I fell to my knees.

"You're pathetic," he remarked. I growled and kicked him. Apparently, I made my hit land, and Grimmjow stumbled back, falling on top of me. I began to scramble out from under him, because my experience with vampires shows that they're all freaking horny assholes. Grimmjow twisted, pinning me to the ground.

"Lemme go!" I snapped, swinging my elbow back into Grimmjow's shit eating face. Grimmjow let out a cry of pain.

(There was an audience by the way.)

"You little brat-"

"Lemme go!" I yelled, squirming out of the man's grasp. Grimmjow promptly leaped on me, tackling me to the ground again. My head smacked the wooden floor sickeningly, and a starburst of white crossed my vision.

I felt someone else jump forward and tackle Grimmjow. When my vision cleared, I saw it was Rukia.

She was wrestling him down. How… how the hell a little girl like Rukia was able to hang onto a beast like Grimmjow is beyond me. I rubbed my aching head with a soft moan, savoring the feeling of a soft breeze against my face.

Wait… breeze?

I snapped my eyes open. The window was open. A man stood in front of the window. I slowly stared at the man, tall in stature with a sculpted face and those reddish brown eyes… I felt everything get cold.

It was Aizen.

He began to slowly walk over to me. I scrambled back, feeling slow, oh God so slow, as he approached and I backed up until I felt the sickening solidity of the wall on my back. Couldn't anyone else see this monster coming at me? Someone? Anyone?

He knelt down in front of me, laying a warm hand on my head gently.

"Calm down, Ichigo," he murmured, drawing out my name like some exotic candy. "I won't hurt you,"

"Ah…" my mouth felt dry. Why couldn't I think of anything coherent? All I could see was blood… blood everywhere… my insides felt hot and dry and cracked… my blood felt like fire. My eyelids fluttered and my hand fisted. Aizen slowly dragged his hand down, from my hair to my face, gently cupping my chin in his hand, oh it felt warm his hand…

"Come," he murmured. My body twitched, and I began to rise, of no power of my own. Aizen stood as well, and wrapped an arm around my waist. I stumbled into his chest, and rested my head on it.

I was tired.

So tired.

"Then rest." He said.

I did.

Inuyoshie's after the chapter special

Okay, so would you be very coherent if you've been slammed onto the ground and then suddenly the sexy man beast that killed your mom and has hypnosis powers shows up and starts seducing you? I don't think I would be. So that is my explanation for Ichigo's messiness in the end.

So I hope you enjoyed it.

I sure did


	8. Chapter 8

Love Lies Bleeding

By Inuyoshie

Chapter Seven? Or was it eight.

(From Aizen's eyes)

I lay on my bed, relaxed. The air was the perfect temperature, the air smelled of the orange haired boy sleeping next to me. He looked some calm and peaceful, his eyes closed lightly and his breathing soft and slow.

Hichigo acted exactly as I predicted. Inside of that man was part of Ichigo, the part of Ichigo that was frighteningly powerful, and it always has wanted to be with Ichigo. Unfortunately Hichigo interpreted this as lust and went after my poor little Ichigo's body. Luckily, Hichigo was dead, Ichigo was half vampire and powerful again. Soon he would become even more powerful, and mine.

When he woke up, he'd be hungry.

I traced a hand across the boy's orange hair, feeling the injury he received from the hit to his head. Some dried blood flaked off, and I brushed it off. His blood smelled delicious when it was freshly drawn, but dried it was flat and unappealing. Blood tastes best alive, brim with energy.

The boy squirmed, groaning slightly. I pulled my hand away, but he didn't wake up. I smiled lightly and frowned at his high school uniform. It looked wrong on him… or perhaps it was part of me that disliked sharing a bed with children. After the incident with dear little Hinamori, I've been craving more mature company in the bedroom anyways. I leaned over and slowly began to unbutton Ichigo's shirt, my fingers searching out for bare skin. Once I found it I caressed it gently, causing the boy under me to shudder. I smirked lightly, pulling the shirt off easily but slowly. It wouldn't do me any good if he woke up in the middle of me undressing him. He may assume I was going to do something rather rude to his unconscious form, which I wouldn't by the way, not the first time. That has always been a rule with me, no matter how tempting the idea may be. Such awakenings tended to frighten off my prey, especially if the prey hates me when we start out. Many of them do. It rarely lasts. I was curious as to how long this one would last…

Carefully, as not to move the boy I rolled his pants off, revealing some nice legs. Lean and tone, suggesting he ran or worked out in some way often. I smiled appreciatively, staring the boy over. H e was lean, not overly muscular with tanned skin and soft looking muscles. The boy shivered, rolling over. I pulled a comforter over him so that he would not wake up from the cold and settled back down to my original place, reading some Shakespeare. The boy liked Shakespeare, so I made sure that I would read some. Ichigo like chocolate, so I put some in a bowel next to my bed. Ichigo liked skinny jeans, so I made sure he had a large selection to choose from. As anyone can plainly see, I know the boy very well. If (more like when) my gentle advances wouldn't work, I may have to pull out the fact that two of his close friends are also within this building. As last I checked… the female Orihime was sleeping, and the Quincy boy was in an argument with Szayel over something. As long as neither of my subordinates killed their charges, all would be good. I'd have to pound that into Szayel's head- the man tends to be rather rough with his toys.

I settled back down and opened my book. Ichigo woke up.

He woke up slowly, first cracking his eyes open and staring dazedly at the ceiling. He then started looking around, his eyes widening. When he spotted me, he tensed and leaped out of bed, only to trip on the comforter and fall on the ground next to the bed. (I chose to leave that area of my room free of carpeting, finding a good crack to the head wakes people up rather well.) I didn't turn away from my book.

"I'm naked!" was Ichigo's first comment. I quirked a brow and glanced over at the boy. He was sitting in a pile of comforter and glared up at me sullenly. I frowned slightly.

"No, you are not naked. You still are wearing your boxers," I pointed out. Ichigo flushed crimson and I smirked. He did look cute all flushed like that. "If you wish to get dressed, there are some clothes in the dresser," I indicated in a particular direction away from the bed. Ichigo stood, shivering and stalked over there. He noticed his school uniform neatly folded on a chair.

"Why am I not wearing my clothes?" he demanded.

"I didn't like the way they looked on you," I replied.

"That's bullshit," he spat. I lowered the book and gave Ichigo a level stare.

"Do not use such vulgar language," I chided him. Ichigo narrowed his eyes.

"Fuck you. I'll talk however I want," he retorted.

"I would not advise that," I warned him calmly, picking up the book again. Well, if he was going to act like a child…

"Screw you," Ichigo scowled, pulling on a shirt. I turned a page.

"Children who misbehave get punished, " I remarked calmly.

"I'm not a child!" Ichigo replied, pulling on some (loose) pants. I sighed.

"Yes, yes you are," I corrected him.

"Then that makes you an old man!" Ichigo remarked, crossing his arms. "I'm leaving,"

"NO you're not," I replied calmly. Ichigo started for the door. I let him. The door was locked anyways; he wasn't getting out that easily. When Ichigo found the door to be locked he glanced at the window. I frowned. Ichigo picked up a book and threw it at the window.

In a second I caught the book, standing regally with the Shakespeare book in my other hand. I glared at Ichigo coldly, making the temperature in the room seem several degrees colder.

"That was rude," I remarked. "Books are for reading, not for breaking windows,"

I began to slowly advance on Ichigo, taking my sweet time and letting the boy squirm. He didn't squirm as much as I had hoped, glaring up at me angrily. It would seem his fear of me had faded.

Perhaps I'd remedy that… no. That wasn't the direction I wanted to go in right now. But… It was the direction I had to go in. I continued walking until I had backed Ichigo against the door, closing the space between us quickly. Ichigo flattened himself on the wall to keep away from me. I placed my arm over his head, leaning on it. My other hand went to the boy's chin gently, stroking the skin. He shuddered under me, trying to pull away but having nowhere to go. A lazy smirk spread across my face as I watched my dear little Ichigo squirm. His eyes were dashing all about, probably trying to find a way out of the situation he was in. Ichigo was a hot headed individual, probably considering some form of violence. Likely a kick…

I moved my hips away from Ichigo as he attempted to hook my shins.

"That was rude," I commented. Ichigo hissed and tried again. The door opened and Ichigo stumbled back, falling right on Ichimaru who had opened the door.

"Eh-"

"Thanks gotta run!" Ichigo took off very quickly down the hall. I watched after him, frowning. Ichimaru backed away.

"Sorry," he remarked in an oddly cheerful voice. I narrowed his eyes. There was no way he couldn't have known I had Ichigo pinned to the door. And, he usually knocks. "Perhaps I oughtta go catch him,"

"Yes, yes you should," I replied icily. "And bring him right back- no playing around,"

"Yessir," Ichimaru replied giving me a mock salute. I rolled my eyes and slammed my door shut.

Idiot subordinates.

Inuyoshie's after the chapter special

Because no matter how tight Aizen and Gin are, they still get on each other's nerves.

Yo yo yo. Or should I say, Ho ho ho, for it is THAT time of the year. So I thought a little yaoi goodness would be good.

If any of y'all out there want an after Christmas one shot, I shall write one. Just gimme a pairing, and other specifications, and I shall write it. I need something to do over winter break.

I work in Bleach, D. Gray Man (favourite over here right now) and various other genres. Just please don't ask me to write Nnoitera. I can't. I've tried. I can't.

Anyways. Hope y'all enjoy.

Oh, and Gin's plotting something. But hell, when isn't he?

Review please and thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

Love Lies Bleeding

By Inuyoshie

Chapter Seven

(From Ichigo's eyes)

Wood paneling with carpeting in some spots. Doors. Hallways. Stairs leading down, but never up. It was as if this building was a freaking maze, lit by flickering old fluorescent lights. Soon I began wondering if I was running in circles. My lungs were burning, my adrenaline running out. My muscles hurt. A little rest… a little rest wouldn't hurt. I had to have a head start on the guy after all, right? I'd be okay. I stopped at a corner, leaning on the door and sucking in blessed sweet oxygen. I sighed, my chest not hurting as much, and opened my eyes. A smiling face greeted me.

"Yo," he said.

"Aah!" I replied, jumping. The guy was tall, silver haired, and had squinty fox-like eyes. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"I finally caught ya," he stated, giving me a glance. "it wasn' easy either, yer pretty determined… an' a li'l fast too, fer a human. Er, half blood, sorry,"

"What the hell are you talking about?" I growled, tensing up. Could I take him? Yeah, he looked lanky… but he managed to keep up with me, and didn't' seem to be messed up either.

"Ya got bit," he pointed to my neck. "Ya know, if ya drink a li'l bit o' Aizen's blood you'll be full blown vampire," I made a disgusted face. "Oh don' look at me like that, silly li'l Ichi… it ain' half bad,"

"Drinking blood sounds disgusting," I grumbled, my mind flickering back to my conversation with Renji. And with Shinji. I felt sick all over.

"Eh, all depends on taste. Now, if yer would come with me-"

"Hell no. I'd rather die," I growled. The man seemed to pause, and I waited for the 'that can be arranged,' line that always shows up in the movies.

"What are ya waitin' fer?" he asked after a moment.

"Well, this is the part where you threaten me or something," I retorted, getting frustrated.

"Eh… Aizen'd get pissed if I got yer blood all over the walls," the man shrugged lazily. "And if ya hurt yerself we'll hafta send ya to our local mad scientist fer anti-depressants…"

"I'm not depressed, I want out!" I exclaimed.

"Well, ya can't get everything ya want in life," the man replied calmly. "Aizen wants ya, kay? And he gets what he wants, if he's gotta tear apart every country on the planet, or dump Hell out on its ass. Runnin' ain' gonna do you any good,"

"Fine then," I growled. "I can always find something sharp and pointy-"

"Szayel can keep ya alive, even if you've damaged most of your internal organs. He grows 'em, ya know. And he's got some great ventilators down in his li'l lab… of course, if ya actually do die, he can always, ya know, bring you back. Frankenstein style," the man's smile seemed to widen. I felt my face pale.

"That's sick," I muttered. "What a monster,"

"Eh, he prefers genius," the man shrugged. "I'm Ichimaru, by the way. Ichimaru Gin,"

"Hi," I muttered, my manners kicking in. I then glared at him. "Whatever fox face," Ichimaru laughed.

"Yer funny" He remarked.

"Good to know someone's amused," I grumbled. Ichimaru shrugged, and leaned in.

"Here's a secret fer ya- just go with it," he told me.

"Huh?" I blinked.

"With Aizen. Ya know, the less you fight, the less it'll hurt, right?" Ichimaru told me. I still looked blank. Hell, I felt blank.

"Are you telling me to give up?" I demanded.

"Well, not entirely I guess… I don' think yer capable o' it… but be a li'l more passive and he'll eventually get bored o' yer. Aizen's obsessions are intense, but really short, ya know? And if ya become a vampire, yer prolly gonna live for a good few centuries after this,"

"But-"

"An' as I said earlier, yer chances o' getting' outta here are slim ta none. " Ichimaru added. I glared at him.

As much as I hated to admit it, the freaky fox faced guy had a point. If I tried to run home, that Aizen bastard would follow me there, and hurt Yuzu, and Karin, and Dad. He'd find my friends, my teachers. I mean yeah, my little sister was a vampire, and knew vampires… but this Aizen guy was serious business. And he had friends. …Lots of friends.

"How do I know he won't just kill me once he loses interest?" I demanded. Ichimaru shrugged.

"Ya don'. But, if he does, then yer gonna be outta this situation, "he pointed out. I sighed heavily.

"I'll… go back," I muttered.

"Really? Great," Ichimaru's grin seemed to get even wider. "An' I didn' even have ta hurt ya! Aizen's gonna be real proud!"

His pale, skinny hand grabbed mine and began leading me expertly through the wooden halls. We were both silent as we walked, the creaking of wood the only sound between us. Ichimaru was leading me a different way from the bedroom, if my panic-laced memory serves me correctly, to a larger room.

This room was fairly fancy looking, with a rather nice table in it. Aizen sat on a large white chair (almost a throne) with a cup of something in his hand. It steamed, so I don't think it was blood. A businessman was sitting next to him, papers laid out. Aizen had a thoughtful look on his face. The business man looked anxious, but not in fear of his life. More the anxiety of a...well, businessman. Aizen smiled generously at the man, and his shoulders seemed to relax instantly, as if Aizen had just flicked a switch. Aizen signed some papers. The businessman thanked Aizen, complimented his tea (presumably what was in the cup) and walked away.

Ichimaru then began walking. I followed after a moment, slightly out of it. Aizen turned to address us, and smiled as he saw me. I felt a burn of rage at the satisfied look on his face, this smug 'I knew you'd come back' look.

"I got him back!" Ichimaru remarked.

"I see," Aizen nodded, keeping his voice neutral.

"An' he ain' hurt too!" Ichimaru added, sounding genuinely proud. I gave him a curious look. Aizen chuckled.

"Ah yes, good work," he remarked, turning to me. "Do have a seat, Ichigo,"

I obeyed (sullenly!)

A servant came in and set a cup before me, pouring me some tea.

"Do you like anything in your tea? Sugar? Milk?" Aizen asked pleasantly.

"A little sugar," I admitted softly.

"Hm, you'll have to speak up," Aizen remarked. I shot him a glare.

"I would like a little sugar," I said pointedly. Aizen sighed.

"My my, your manners are a mess-"

"I would like a little sugar _please_," I glared even more. "Happy?

"Quite," Aizen smiled at me. I grumbled something as the servant put a little sugar in my tea and stirred it. I didn't touch the reddish brown liquid. It was probably poisoned or something.

"It's not poisoned, you know," Aizen remarked, sounding startlingly close. I snapped my head up to find him sitting next to me, a little closer than formally appropriate. He had this smile, almost like a sly smirk carved into his face with enough warmth to make it not look fake. (It didn't look genuine either)

I gave a sigh and took a sip. The tea was very good, warm and soothing; I closed my eyes and drank a little, setting the cup down. When I opened my eyes, Aizen was watching me intently, with dark reddish brown eyes. They were such a pretty shade, like chocolate and tea and warm… very warm. Easy to be caught in to. A warm hand reached out and brushed against my cheek, pulling me closer… closer to

Monster.

I pulled away suddenly, upsetting the table and spilling the tea. Aizen frowned at me.

"That was rather rude," he remarked, his voice showing no signs of displeasure, only amusement. Was it wrong that part of me was relieved by that? Well, I suppose that was natural, I mean, if he got pissed off I'd probably die but… ah jeez. I tried to back away but Aizen was there (how the hell did he move so fast) putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Next time, do try to refrain from ruining my china, alright?" he remarked, his words pleasant but his tone a little smoother than it should have been, a little darker. I didn't like how he kept… touching me, pulling me; he seemed to insist that I was close to him… I didn't like it. He felt too solid under his skin, way too solid for a human, let alone a vampire. There was nothing but liquid steel under all that silk. He could snap me in two with a twitch. But instead he fingered the bandage at my throat, pulling off the gauze. I winced, trying to pull away but his other arm held me close, wrapped around my waist. His fingers traced gently around the wound, causing the flesh around it to ache and the puncture wounds to stab with pain.

"S-stop…" I hissed.

"Why did they let you out of the hospital if it wasn't fully healed?" Aizen remarked, disapproval in his warm (and close!) voice.

"Doctor… puts holy water in the food," I muttered. "Tasted… gross,"

"Ah, I see," Aizen nodded, amusement returning into his voice. "That would be the Ishida one, right?"

"Y-yeah," I muttered. His mouth was close to my neck, I could feel the warmth of his breath on the skin. I tensed… and he kissed the wound, not biting it, not even opening the scabs. I felt my face heat up as Aizen dragged his mouth across the entire area, making the skin burn. It felt… ah, good wouldn't be the right word for it. Intense, maybe. My knees felt weak and my eyes slipped shut, and I seemed to lose sense of everything else in the room around me. Naturally, I leaned in on Aizen who seemed happy to take on my weight, cradling me in his arms and gently probing the wound with his tongue, lightening up when AI winced in pain. After a moment, Aizen pulled away, leaving the place where his mouth had been icy cold and the rest of my burning hot. I staggered a little, dazed and confused.

"Ichimaru, do show Ichigo to his room," Aizen remarked loftily, walking out. I stared after him.

ASSHOLE!

Inuyoshie's after the chapter jam session

Yo yo yo mah peeps it has been a while

Indeed it has.

So yeah. I've been okay, how have you all been? This fanfic is my attempt to wean myself off of Solitaire, that stuff is seriously addicting. So are House (the TV series) and Cowboy Bebop. But at least those don't give me a 5% winning rate. TT-TT My computer cheats.

Also, I've been working on another fanfic during the school hours, which I will hopefully post up on Fanfiction sometime within the next few months. Once I think of a name for it… it's a NarutoX D. Gray man crossover, heavy on the Naruto with more of an injection of the (sexy) D Gray Man guys to make things spicy and delicious. It's part drama, lotsa lotsa romance, kinda depressing, and it has plenty of mad science, cultural references and coffee in it. And Orochimaru in a hot tub. So yeah! If this sort of thing is your cup of tea, be on the lookout.

If not, I bless juu and all of your fun stuff and hope you enjoyed the smexy yaoi! Please review!


	10. Chapter 10

Love Lies Bleeding

Chapter 8

(From Ichigo's eyes)

"Again? Kurosaki, you are pitifully predictable,"

Staring at the window I had just managed to pry open, I was starting to hate that Ulquiorra guy. This was the third time today he's foiled my plans of escape. But this time was different! I picked the hottest room in the mansion, and it was almost noon. The heat was crawling up my sides and strangling me, and I was only part… you know. Part…ech, part vampire. So it must be awful for a full-blown one, right? Yes, it had to have been. I gave the window pane one final push and it fell down with a too-loud crash. It felt like a burglar alarm or something, like a traitorous bird screaming 'Here I am Aizen! Ichigo's escaping!'

The man terrified me. Aizen, not Ulquiorra. Well, I'd rather not get the shit beaten out of me by Ulquiorra, but if I had to be alone in a room with either, I'd pick Ulquiorra.

AS the pale man turned the corner, I climbed onto the windowsill. Looking down, I realized that it was a pretty long jump down, and there was unforgiving concrete waiting to greet me at the end of my jump. I glanced back at the creepily cat-like eyes of Ulquiorra and scowled.

What the hell.

I jumped.

And then, I landed. For a split second, I had no idea what was going on. My left leg was numb. My right leg was in agony, like somebody had taken it and smashed it against a tombstone.

The rest of me was pressed against something warm and soft, something with a firm grip and a not unpleasant scent about it. Unwillingly, I shuddered, and knew it was Aizen even before he opened his mouth.

"Tch… Ichigo Ichigo," he said in that awful, condescending tone. Like he was talking to a little kid or something. I felt a hand drag down my injured leg and pain exploded behind my eyes. I tried to bite back a cry, but it didn't work so well. Why the hell was he touching my leg anyways? It was probably all cut up, and bloody…

Oh yeah.

Fucking animal, that's what he was. A Goddamn animal.

"Hope you cut yourself on glass," I muttered venomously, gritting my teeth.

"Ichigo, that's not a very nice thing to say," Aizen replied, again with that stupid tone of his. I felt myself get pulled up, he was holding me up and standing, fucking bastard. I could see the scene of the crime, all red and white and glittering with shards of glass like snow. The red was everywhere, like someone dropped a bunch of balloons full of red paint. I realized with a sickening lurch of my stomach that it was my blood painting the creamy, innocent sidewalk. Why hadn't anyone else noticed? Where were all the people? It was too hot. I felt dizzy all over. My sweat seemed to be steaming off of my body, not cooling me off. It felt totally gross. Every time Aizen stepped, my head throbbed. I pressed my face into the bastard's shoulder, ignoring the soft chuckle he gave. I hate that bastard. His shoulder was just… convenient.

The air became much cooler- we were inside. And heading down (or up?) stairs, judging by the jerky way we were moving. My leg hurt so much… I couldn't move. Even blinking seemed to make my leg throb. I tried to squirm in a desperate move to make myself comfortable, but Aizen's hands seemed to stop me. Why was he touching me! I didn't want him to… I wanted to curl up in a black corner somewhere, or chop my leg off. But if I cut my leg off, then I couldn't escape this hellhole! I was fucked either way…

"Szayel."

Geez Aizen was loud. Why was he so loud? I lifted my head a bit, in time to be laid down on a bed that felt amazingly cool. I closed my eyes for a moment, relaxing. It felt nice.

The prodding in my leg felt less nice. I snapped my eyes open, watching.

There was this weird guy, pink hair, white lab coat, prodding my leg. He had a cart full of sharp instruments that looked rather painful, but all the man was holding at the moment was a pair of tweezers and what I think is a hemostat. I wish I had paid more attention to my dad when he was doing his whole surgical thing. My eyes flickered over to Aizen, who was watching the procedure with silent, dark eyes. He didn't seem very angry, something that caused me a twinge of relief. If he was pissed, I reasoned, then he would hurt me or something. I had enough hurt for one day.

The pink haired guy pulled out a rather large shard of glass, causing me to cry out. I gripped the sides of the bed. Aizen was looking at me now. Our eyes met for a few moments. His were scarily calm, blank, emotionless. The man walked over to me and put a warm hand over my eyes. Everything seemed to relax and fade, the smell of disinfectant and Aizen (which smelled awful together, let me tell you) the feeling of pain in my leg, the coldness under me… it all faded, dulled, and then vanished. Everything vanished, leaving only a warm fuzzy darkness.

I dreamed about Hichigo.

It was really weird, let me tell you. He and I were sitting on a floor, in his bedroom, but it was weird. Everything was on its side. No really- the light bulb was attached to the wall on my left, the bed to the wall on my right, all the stupid crap Hichigo had on that wall too. But for some reason, I didn't touch it. I knew everything was alright, because it was always like this, right? This isn't sideways; having your bed on the floor is sideways. Silly me.

Wait what?

That made no sense. None at all.

"King, quit thinkin' too much," Hichigo poked me. I sighed and stared at him. I didn't feel sad or angry at Hichigo. I felt… I dunno. Detached.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm you, silly," Hichigo replied.

"No, you're Hichigo," I corrected him.

"Ya know, Hichigo is just Ichigo with an H attached," Hichigo replied calmly. I frowned. "Aw come on King, don't frown like that or your face will get stuck like that,"

"You're funny," I muttered sarcastically.

"I know, right?" Hichigo grinned. "Yer gonna be lonely for a while, so get used to me,"

"What do you mean, lonely?" I demanded.

"Well, ya got some friends around, but ya can' talk to them," Hichigo mused, turning on his TV and showing Ishida, arguing with the pink haired guy from earlier. The pink guy proceeded to pin Ishida to a wall and make out with him. I felt my face redden (was this my imagination) I had wanted to do that at one point in time, really! But… the scene changed to show Orihime Inoue, one of my oldest friends, asleep and leaning on a muscular man with curly dark hair and a funky goatee. At least that image wasn't so bad… if Mr. Goatee hurt Orihime I think I'd rip his face off. AS it was, I really wanted to do something nasty to the pink haired freak molesting Ishida. What kind of asswipe does that?

"The kind that hangs around that Aizen guy too much," Hichigo answered. "And as bad as it looks, Ishida ain' hurt,"

"What do you mean he's not hurt?" I demanded.

"He liiikes it," Hichigo replied in an almost lecherous purr. Was that really me? "Oops, looks like yer wakin' up,"

"Wait, what…" I groaned, my eyes peeling open. The air smelled like disinfectant again, with the hint of blood. Not my blood.

My leg was all bandaged up, with what looked like a brace wrapped in. I couldn't feel a thing on it, but I supposed that was a good thing.

I didn't see the pink haired man. I'm glad I didn't though, because if I had, I would have really wanted to bash his face in. And if I did that, one of us would have gotten hurt. The sad thing is, it probably would have been me.

Sighing, I laid back in my bed.

That dream was real. Ishida and Inoue are here, but they aren't hurt. I can't explain how I know, it just… is. That's the truth. That's how it was. No denying it.

Hichigo was inside my head.

Inuyoshie's after the chapter special

I'M BACK

Sorry about the wait, I really am. It's just… I couldn't write it, ya know? Fell out of vampires, fell out of Bleach, fell out of yaoi, I dunno. But I didn't post anything for a while. And then the school year began ending and… yeah. But now it's over, it's summer, and I'll either be producing a helluvalot of stuff, or I won't produce at all. Summer is strange like that.

But yeah. Ichi-berry fell down. Ichi-berry met Szayel. Ichi-berry got to psychically visit the other two side stories, Spiraling Madness and Romantic Seclusion.

And, Aizen's an ass. But what else is new?

Che. I do suggest reading the two. Romantic Seclusion makes more sense if you read this one though.

T-T

I dunno about Spiraling Madness.

Anyways.

Moar hot yaoi later on, I promise.

Review?


	11. Chapter 11

Love Lies Bleeding

By Inuyoshie

Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns Bleach, not me.

Chapter Nine

From Ichigo's Eyes

I was there and I was not.

It was a freaky feeling; I could feel my eyeballs throbbing behind my eyelids, but not the rest of my body. I felt cold air on my face and on my feet, but nowhere else. I smelled antiseptic and blood.

The blood smell was like before, thin and boring, a coppery mineral smell. It didn't interest me.

The antiseptic worried me though. Antiseptic was for my dad's patients, not me.

I vaguely remember thinking how ridiculous that thought was.

Then, my brain skipped, like a flat rock on a river, and suddenly I was awake in a strange dark room with a too bright light over me. My limbs were bound to a hard table, which was cold when I tried to squirm but warm under my body. I'd been here for a while.

The bonds creaked as I struggled, glancing around. I was hooked up to a few machines, which whirred and bipped at me chidingly. Now now, Kurosaki, they seemed to say.

"Stop struggling so much,"

Their voice pissed me off. It was all silky and condescending and it wasn't Aizen's voice, his silky condescendingness could be dealt with, really, it could. No, the voice reminded me of Ishida's dad in a weird way.

The thought of Ishida made my head snap up and I saw that weird pink haired fellow, hovering over me. There was something about him that made me really pissed off.

"Oh my," Pinky stated, covering his leering mouth politely. "You seem quite agitated,"

"Lemme out," I snapped.

"What's the magic word?" Pinky asked.

"Fuck off and die," I growled.

"That's four words, I only asked for one," Pinky sighed. "Really, you humans are pathetic,"

"We'll see how pathetic I am if I'm not tied down!" I challenged.

"Hm," Pinky said tonelessly. "You bore me,"

He then pulled out a scalpel and drew a line on his own wrist, a line of rich, dark blood that was painfully fragrant. The stuff smelled… like some kind of perfume maybe, sweet and slightly floral.

But I felt something, an awful clench in my stomach, a deadening of my tongue, a lurch of my neck. A disgusting smirk on Pinky's face.

"Oh dear, not so talkative now, are we," he remarked moving his hand (and wrist) in front of my face teasingly. I struggled to keep my head still. My eyes watered, but I wasn't going to give the pink haired bastard the satisfaction of knowing his blood made me… made me…

"See this is really amusing," Pinky remarked, dabbing his fingers into his cut and then tapping my nose. I could smell it, just a smear, sitting innocently upon my nose but I couldn't reach it. I could see it, I could smell it, but I couldn't reach it with my tongue (although it was pressing against my teeth, desperate to try) and my hand were bound.

"You fucking asshole," I snarled. "LET ME OUT!"

"Ah, but why would I do that?" Pinky remarked, pulling out some gauze and wrapping up the injury. "I mean, you're much more entertaining…"

A door slammed open, nearby. A strong feeling of power rolled in, along with the unmistakable scent of Aizen. Pinky paled.

"Ah… Lord Aizen," he turned around and bowed sloppily. I swallowed as the obviously furious man stepped into the light. His eyes seemed glowing.

"Szayel, did I not make it clear to you, that Ichigo is not yours to play with," he asked in a smooth, careful voice.

"It was just to see… how recovered he was," Pinky BSed quickly. I could almost hear his eyes flickering madly behind those flashy glasses of his. My face felt hot.

"Really?" Aizen strolled over to me, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping my nose off. I winced- the action made my nose feel like it was on fire. I felt a burning hand caress the side of my face, letting out a soft grunt. It hurt, everything was burning. The table under me felt like a hot frying pan, the blanket over me like a scratchy wool blanket in the middle of August.

Aizen was undoing the bonds. I could hear it, I could feel it, but I couldn't focus on it. I actually cried out when he picked me up, my eyes watering.

"Where does it hurt?" Aizen's smooth voice asked. I grit my teeth.

"Everywhere," I muttered. Aizen sighed and began carrying me out of the hellish hospital space I was in.

The transit was quiet. I tried to make myself calm down, but the pain was too obvious, too there. I didn't even know if it was from my fall or not anymore. We stopped for a moment, and then kept going, then stopped again and I was deposited on something soft. It wasn't a bed though, some sort of easy chair or something. Someone sat next to me. I tried to crack my eyes open but a hand was gently placed over them in protest. I let out an annoyed mutter and Aizen let out an amused chuckle.

"Drink this," he ordered, pressing something, a bottle, in my hand. It felt sort of warm, but didn't burn. Unquestioningly, I put it to my lips and downed the contents. It tasted metallic, but not like hard water. Still, I felt the pain subside, the burning go away. Once the bottle was gone, I opened my eyes.

The bottle was bright red.

I stared at it, trying to comprehend its meaning. Well, I knew it was blood, but I was trying to shove the thought through my fairly fried brain with great difficulty.

Aizen was next to me, quiet. I had the feeling he was watching me, although I didn't turn to look at him.

Finally, I sighed and sat back. The chair I was in was really comfortable, and felt cool. Other than taking the bottle away, Aizen didn't do anything to me. That was fine, I wasn't really there.

I was thinking.

Something about Pinky made me mad.

What was it?

His look… his voice… his smell… those glasses, hiding condescending eyes… why was it familiar?

Familiar because…

He smelled like Ishida.

INSERT BREAK LINE Here

Inuyoshie's after the chapter special of doom

Yo!

I know, it's been a while.

See, my excuse is I got obsessed with D. Gray Man again, so I lacked the will to write Bleach fanfiction. Then I got hit by the Naruto bug again, even though I thought I'd left that bug behind about four years ago. Then I got hit by writer's block.

So yeah.

But Ichigo, my boy, he is getting smarticle! And Szayel's gonna get his ass beaten… and Aizen's gonna get all… romantic maybe?

Who knows.

Well, I know, but I'm not sharing. He hee….

Anyways. A review would be lovely, if you could. Have a pleasant day.


	12. Chapter 12

Love Lies Bleeding

By Inuyoshie

Chapter Twelve

(from Ichigo's eyes)

My dream was going along quite nicely- I was having a picnic with my family. The goat-faced bastard was there, as were Yuzu and Karin, and Orihime and Uryuu were there too for some reason. Orihime brought some of her really weird food and some of that tamarind flavoured soda, but it tasted okay. Weird, but okay.

Then Hichigo showed up.

"Come on," I complained. "I was having a nice dream!"

"I don't see any naked women in it, so it can't be that amazing," Hichigo replied. I scowled at his lewdness.

"Can you not be so vulgar?" I demanded.

"You sound like Aizen." Hichigo replied.

I woke up and saw Aizen peering over me, a vaguely concerned look on his face. After a second I realized that my head was in his lap and scowled. Aizen smiled lightly at my scowl.

"You seem to be in better spirits," he remarked, in that horribly smooth voice of his. What the hell, did he sing jazz once or something?

"Hn." I copied Ulquiorra and Byakuya's favourite word in this situation, since it seemed to sum up my feelings rather adequately.

"I would like to apologize for the manner in which Szayel Aporro treated you," Aizen remarked, not missing a beat. I made a face at the mention of that weirdo's name. "Rest assured, he's been punished,"

At first, I was satisfied. But then I remembered the snippets of conversation, the smells, the visions that Hichigo had provided me with… if Uryuu was stuck with the Szayel guy, and he was incapacitated… what would happen to Uryuu? Maybe he'd escape… I mused on this quietly. Aizen was watching me. His gaze on me was a bit unnerving (bit? More like a hell of a lot) but I didn't let it show, I didn't want him to know he was getting to me. That would really suck.

(_You know, staying in his lap is admitting you like it_) Hichigo said.

"I don't." I growled at Hichigo. Aizen tipped his head.

"You don't what?" he asked. I sat up very quickly and winced as a wave of dizziness swept over me. Why was I hearing Hichigo? He's dead!

(_I'm not dead, 'cuz you're not dead. I'm you, remember?)_

Fuck. I got up and began pacing around the dimly lit room. It looked like a sitting room of some sorts, but there were few lights and few people occupying the cushy seats strewn over the room. There wasn't enough room to walk. I ran outside the room, down the halls. Vaguely, I registered that I shouldn't be moving around so much, not after falling out of a window

(_Jumping_)

"Shut the hell up!"

(_You need to get a hold of yourself if you ever want to escape this place_)

"But Fox-face-"

(_He lied. Aizen Souske has killed every single person he's taken a serious interest in. He killed your mother after all_)

And there it was, my vision cut out to a theater where people in Elizabethan attire moved across the stage. One of the people was Aizen, moving across the stage and interacting with people, winding a symbolic red cloth around their necks. Some of them toppled over, others toppled others over. He danced around a young woman with wide eyes and black hair kept back in a bun, taking her into his arms, kissing her, and then killing her with a sword. He fought with a man who looked like my father, but younger, and sent flowers to a woman who looked like my mother. The whole act looked fucking strange. Hichigo was sitting next to me, dressed in a suit and watching.

"Aizen liked my mom?" I remarked.

"Yep." Hichigo nodded. "Gross, ain' it? He's only interested in yer power,"

"My… power?" I stared.

"Yeah. Yer a weird one, haven't ya noticed that? Your blood is chock full of mana, which is why lots of vampires are crazy about ya." Hichigo drawled. I shuddered. "But don't worry King, I gotta plan,"

"A plan…"

"You master yer powers and activate the Prime, n' it'll all work out," Hichigo said. "Remember: the Prime. And don't mention it ta Sousuke, or he'll kill you."

I stared. Now he was making absolutely no sense. Hichigo folded an elegant pair of viewing glasses he was using and tucked them into his right pocket. My vision cut out and I was in the hall again, leaning on a wall, gasping for breath. I looked around. No one was there. I started running again. My head hurt. To be honest, the rest of me did too, especially my lungs. It felt like I couldn't get enough oxygen to my brain. My legs faltered and I staggered off to a wall. I probably looked like an idiot, but I had to move, to run to do something because the muscles in my body seemed to be twitching and on fire.

"Ichigo."

His voice cut through the mess of thoughts that clung to the sides of my head. I slowly glanced up at Aizen, feeling a bit lost. "You need to not exert yourself,"

"I'm not!" I grumbled. "I need to move,"

"That's the bloodlust-"

"What?" I cut him off, startled. I wasn't even hungry! Well actually… now that he mentioned it, there was a tightness in my stomach, but it only rose when Aizen was around. Asshole.

"Does it feel like you're burning?" Aizen asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah," I muttered, not wanting to talk to him. Really, I sort of wanted to rip his throat out. Well… not sort of. I really wanted to rip his throat out. And not just because I was hungry either.

"Do you have any hobbies?" Aizen wanted to know. I stared at him. "I mean, besides reading, writing and-"

"I don't even want to know how you know my hobbies," I muttered, a bit creeped out. "And why won't they do?"

"Because you need to do something physical in order to distract yourself…" Aizen mused, before pinning me to the wall and kissing me. It was harsh and intense and made my face heat up and my stomach clench in a different way from how it had before with the blood. What's frustrating was how… good it felt, like I could just melt into that asshole's arms and I could breathe again.

Aizen eased me off of the wall- I wasn't quite sure exactly what he was doing, but the older man buried his thumb under my shirt and in the base of my spine, rubbing slow circles that made electricity crawl up my back and down my legs. The sensation was quite strange, but when his fingers dipped below my waistline I pulled back, shaking my head. Aizen didn't say anything, he just watched me with an infuriatingly amused look on his face, and handed me a dark bottle.

"This should tide you over for now," he said calmly, walking off. I stared at the bottle, and then opened it. It was blood. Not his, but someone else's. Inwardly, I hoped that it was given willingly and not squeezed out of someone like an orange. With a sigh, I drank the thing down.

The burning didn't stop.

Fucking asshole.

Leaning back, I thought back on the weird show Hichigo showed me in my head. What the hell was the Prime? Some kind of alien? A plan? And something about Hichigo really bugged me, something that seemed totally off about him. What was it…

I glanced down at the bottle in my right hand and realized that Hichigo was left handed.

/-

Inuyoshie's after the chapter blood fest.

I'M SO SORRY PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR TAKING SO LONG TO UPDATE!

No lie. I mean, my plot bunnies for this story ran away. Actually, all of my plot bunnies ran away. College does that to you.

But now I am back, with some plot-ness. Like Hichigo… what's up with Hichigo? Being all reversed n' stuff? And his contradictory words about Aizen? And the Prime?

Ah, I forgot how much fun doing this is.

Also: Kissing boys is now one of Ichigo's hobbies.

So, could you please review? That would be smooth as cheese.


	13. Chapter 13

Love Lies Bleeding

By Inuyoshie

Chapter 13: Hollyhock

(From Aizen's Eyes)

Ah… I remember when I was a fledgling.

I don't remember my sire. He wasn't worth remembering.

I killed him.

Killing him was unpleasant and painful. But I did it.

Shortly after the act, a vampire called Shinji Hirako found me. I suppose I owe the infuriating man something, for it was thanks to him I am what I am.

Perhaps I'll kill him quickly.

I'll do it soon though. While my precious Ichigo was slumbering on my lap, I could feel the blonde's reitsu inside of him. This was unacceptable. And, not only was he inside my Ichigo, he was hurting the boy. And Ichigo was too stubborn to come back to me, to let me take his pain away.

Hirako was sticking his fingers in my game. He had to die. I've worked too long, too hard on the boy to let him go.

Ichigo was pacing. The need to move was normal for a fledgling. I remember running for miles through rural areas to make the fire under my skin cease. It's worse for my Ichigo was it was worse for myself, a being of high spiritual power. There aren't many ways to quell this fire.

Hirako was a horrible lover.

He had more of a preference for (drunken) women or attractive males. As a fledgling, I needed physical contact. All fledglings do, it strengthens the bond between sire and fledgling. Hirako had to drink himself into a stupor to be able to even touch me.

He despised me... I despise him. I can't imagine why he would target my Ichigo. His power? Possibly. Power was one thing Hirako liked, not that I could blame him. I like power too. Power keeps my subordinates in line.

"Nnoitera," I announced, standing before the vampire's quarters. He swung the door open lazily. The male was tall and lanky, not suiting my personal tastes. However, he was powerful. And irritating. Perfect for the job I needed him to do.

"What is it?" the vampire asked me agitatedly.

Annoyance swelled.

"I need you to exterminate some people," I replied, handing him a list of names. "Take Grimmjow with you,"

"Why do I have to take that weak-ass-"

"Nnoitera." I cut him off coldly, my reitsu rising, weighing down each molecule of air to unbreathable levels. Nnoitera's legs trembled, his eye widened, his stance weakened.

"Y-yeah yeah, I-I'm on it," he choked out. I relaxed the pressure.

"Good." I said, walking off.

I like power.

Still, I felt a twinge of annoyance at Nnoitera's offhanded way of speaking to me. I may have to do something to his soft-spoken pet, Tesla. While the hard-skinned vampire was crass and verbally abusive, I knew that he held softness for the one-eyed blonde.

With this in mind, I entered my bedroom. As I did, the sound of running water and the soft, masculine scent of Ichigo filled the room. A smile snaked upon my face as I carefully approached my personal bathroom.

He was taking a shower. He seemed to be in a bit of a rush to bathe, seeing as his clothes were strewn across the floor. That was fine though; they were from Szayel's lab and thus reeked of blood, sweat, fear and preservatives. In Ichigo's haste, he'd forgotten to fully close the shower curtain as well, giving me a teasing strip of Ichigo's toned, muscular body. Beads of water formed on the tanned skin, shifting as Ichigo moved.

I must have made some sort of noise, for Ichigo turned around quickly and spotted me through the crack, his face displaying shock and confusion. I approached the shower. Ichigo baked away. I shook my head slightly and sighed, pushing the shower curtain back fully. Cold water sprinkled my arm and face, but I didn't mind. The view was worth getting a little wet.

"What do you want?" he demanded. I raised an eyebrow.

"That's a terribly open question," I (replied, reaching out and touching Ichigo's face. He didn't flinch. I could feel the reishi humming under Ichigo's skin, crawling up my fingers. I stroked the boy's cheek with my thumb, enjoying the feeling of his reishi as well as the horrible suppressed shudders that racked Ichigo's body. And it was a nice body, lithe but not skinny, sculpted but not muscle-bound. His hips had a slightly feminine curve to them but it was balanced by the firm muscles of his chest and stomach.

"S-stop that," Ichigo demanded. "It's creepy."

"Would you rather me look or touch?" I asked simply. His face had a lovely pink dusting at that, and I could practically feel the salacious thoughts assaulting his brain.

The water turned icy and I turned it off in annoyance. My sleeve was soaked.

"Taking a cold shower won't help," I remarked casually, grabbing a nearby towel.

"It did." Ichigo insisted.

"But not for long. Cold water only provides a temporary relief, but it has a rebound affect," I replied.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes and grabbed the towel out of my hands. He knew I was right. After all, I was right. Rubbing viciously at his skin was only going to exasperate the problem. I sighed, watching him.

I'd done the same thing, Hirako had stood and laughed while my sin throbbed painfully.

I would not permit Ichigo to go through the same.

I quickly stepped over to Ichigo and picked him up. He struggled, but I sent a pulse of my reishi down his skin to calm him down. Not too much, of course, but enough to let me get to my bed.

I set Ichigo down on my neatly made bed and he stared up at me suspiciously, looking tan against the whiteness of my sheets. He was a beautiful tangle of power. Mine. All mine. I would easily kill anyone who even thought about touching him.

I lay down next to him, amused by his tense body language. The water was evaporating off of Ichigo's heated skin, a more efficient method of drying.

"Why am I so fucking calm?" Ichigo said harshly.

"Watch your language," I chided him gently. He growled back.

"You did something weird to me," he accused. I shrugged.

"Struggling is a bad idea in your state," I replied calmly. Ichigo stared at me flatly. "You wanted the burning to stop, yes?" He didn't need to answer. I knew. "I took it away." I gently moved in on Ichigo. "Understand that I can easily give it back," I said, kissing his cheek smoothly and removing a bit of my reishi from Ichigo, throwing the surrounding skin into a spasm of heat and fire. Ichigo drew in a shuddering breath. I slid my tongue across his skin, tasting the pain and discomfort that radiated off of him.

Ichigo kept himself tense as I pulled away. He'd been biting his lower lip, causing the unfortunate tissue to swell.

"Ichigo, Ichigo. Let go of your stubbornness."

Inuyoshie's after the chapter special

Yep.

Here we be, another chapter~ I'm getting better at updating. I think/hope?

I need to work on some more of Spiraling Madness. My inner Szayel was coming out in this chapter. The long handed version was all crazy and disjointed, it took some work to make Aizen sound smooth and in control again. But, in a way I can see him being a little disjointed in the head. After all, what happens when a man is given massive amounts of power? He goes crazy. So in a way, I think Aizen is a little crazy in his head. This has been proven in the manga. Just sayin'.

As for Nnoitera, his orders will actually be a big part in the coming arc. Yes, you read correctly. I actually have a plan for how this story is going to go. A Plan! I actually didn't have much of a plan before this. ^-^"

Fledglings needing physical contact is similar to how babies need contact. Their nervous system is being assaulted by crazy amounts of stimuli, and being physically close to their sire or any higher ranking vampire helps ground a fledgling, keep one from going crazy. This contact doesn't have to be sexual, it just works out nicely for Aizen. Usually the physical contact involves cuddling, or patting one on the head, depending on the relationship.

Yep. Inu takes vampires too f**king seriously. But I'm also writing a Kuroshitsuji fanfic involving vampires, so it comes up. ^-^

Che shower scenes are steamy.

Hollyhocks represent ambition.

So, could I have a review? That would be cool. Even if not, thanks for reading my story~


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